Sirouhi Harutyunyan (born on January 7, 1987 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union), better known as Sirusho ([Սիրուշո] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)), is an Armenian pop singer. Her first appearance in front of an audience was in Canada when she was seven years old. At the age of 9 she received an award for her song "Lusabats". She took piano lessons in a Sayat-Nova musical school and currently studies diplomacy in Yerevan State University, majoring in International Relations. She is the daughter of the famous Armenian singer Susan Margaryan.[1].
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Her first album called Sirusho was released in 1999, and the second Sheram was released in 2005. It contained 10 songs of gusan Sheram. With support of her parents, she was awarded the The Future of Armenian Music, Best album and Best female performer in the first Armenian National Music Awards.[2].
For the past few years, Sirusho has been performing on stage in couture by the brand Kivera Naynomis with the aim of presenting Armenian fashion design to the world alongside Armenian music.
Recently, she was the Armenian spokesperson of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and the Armenian representative for Eurovision Song Contest 2008, held in Belgrade, Serbia.[3] The song she sang in Belgrade, Qele Qele, was selected from four candidate songs produced by four Armenian composers (with lyrics written by Sirusho) through national voting, provided by Armenian Public Television. The song finished in 4th place in the 2008 Eurovision competition.
Biography
Sirusho comes from a family of artists. Her father is a renowned actor and director (an Honored Artist of Armenia) and her mother is a reputable singer beloved by the Armenian public (also an Honored Artist of Armenia).
Sirusho's first encounter with singing and music was when she was ten months old. At age two she began to sing full songs. One of the songs that Sirusho performed as a child was "Lusabats", an Armenian folk song written in the early 1900s by Komitas.
For over 13 years, the 21 year-old artist continues to be one of the most famous and adored Armenian singers. In one of her interviews she said, "I have never been one of those children who dreamt of becoming a singer. I was a little kid and people would ask me to sing at events. Every time after I sang, I would see the amazed looks on their faces and I couldn't figure out the reason. I mean, I thought I wasn't doing a hard thing, I was just singing the way I felt the music."
At the age of 7 Sirusho began to write her own music, as well as lyrics in Armenian and English. She was 8 when she greeted her first big crowd. At the age of 9 the song, she had composed, brought her an award at the Contest of Young Talent. At age 10 she successfully competed in a contest with older participants, eventually winning the first place. She released her first album "Sirusho" when she was 13, gradually becoming one of the most favored performers at the biggest Armenian concerts. Some of the best Armenian composers have written songs for her. She has toured around many countries, bringing vibrant Armenian pop and folk music to Canada, United States, France, Belgium, Greece, Germany, Lebanon, Egypt, Georgia, Russia, Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Poland, and elsewhere.
2005
After performing soul and pop music for years, Sirusho decided to work on the album of Armenian folk gusan songs by Gusan Sheram (this album also included the hit song "Shorora"). In 2005, the album was recognized as The Best Album of the Year at the Armenian National Music Awards. Her success at the 2005 Awards became double by receiving the award for Best Female Artist of the Year, being only 18. At the end of her thank-you speech, she said, "I have worked and toured a lot this year, and even in a few hours after this event, I’ll be flying to the U.S. for concerts, and I want to thank you all for giving me wings for all the future "flights" of my life. In a few days her single "Give me wing", written by herself, had flooded radio waves and music channels, becoming a hit among the Armenian public. In 2006, Sirusho received the award for Best Female Artist of the Year at the Annual Armenian-Russian Diaspora Music Awards held in Moscow. A year later, she was announced The Best Female Artist of the Year at the Armenian Music Awards, held by the Armenian-American Diaspora at the Kodak Theater. Sirusho received her fourth Best Female Artist award at the 2008 Armenian National Music Awards, where she had obtained her first award in 2005, and had promised to continue her "flight". She has received several other awards for her songs and music videos.
2006
In 2006, Armenian pop music suffered the loss of one of its best performers of all times, Varduhi Vardanyan, in a tragic car accident. Varduhi had been like a sister for Sirusho ever since she was a little kid. In her loving memory, Sirusho dedicated a song called "Mez Vochinch Chi Bazhani" ("Nothing Will Part Us").
2007
In 2007, Sirusho released her third album, titled "Hima", which included the song dedicated to Varduhi, as well as many other tracks written and produced by Sirusho. The album proved to be a breakthrough in Armenian music, unleashing a fresh wave of mixing soul and R&B with folk instruments such as duduk, dhol, zourna, and others.
2008
Sirusho was chosen as Armenia's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song Qele Qele. The song entered the first semi final on May 20 and advanced to the final which took place on May 24.
Even though she came in 4th place in the final with 199 points, she was awarded the maximum amount of 12 points the most times of all the contestants (8), with the winner, Russian Dima Bilan receiving the maximum amount of 12 points seven times.
